Nurses union wages billboard campaign in hospital labor battle

Contract talks had broken down. Labor union and hospital leaders in Fulton County blamed each other for the situation. Federal regulators had been asked to step in and restore order at the negotiating table.

Then, the stalemate went public, and Lamar Advertising, a public company with offices in Albany, New York, has been cashing in on the dispute by leasing billboard space.

Billboards touching on the issue are hovering above motorists near Nathan Littauer Hospital and Nursing Home in Gloversville. The New York State Nurses Association, the union representing 157 nurses at the hospital system, has been paying for signs over the past month to sway public opinion, according to Matthew Duddy, vice president and general manager of Lamar Advertising's operation in Albany.

"The only answer is to buy more billboards," Duddy said of options available to the hospital to respond to the union's negotiating tactic.

About 10 locations around the working-class cities of Gloversville and Amsterdam, just 14 miles to the south, have featured large billboards with nurses standing in a group beside the New York City-based union's logo. The signs read: "The registered nurses of Nathan Littauer Hospital care for our community."

For Lamar Advertising, the health-care labor battles have created a well-known scenario in the billboard business.

A company -- in this case the hospital -- has been buying billboards each year to strengthen its reputation in the community. A union then buys billboard space under temporary deals that typically last four weeks. The temporary advertising generally costs about $675 per billboard, Duddy said.

That billboard strategy generally precedes picketing to pressure a company during negotiations (more on that later).

Nathan Littauer has an annual contract with Lamar Advertising for billboards in the Gloversville and Amsterdam market that has been renewed for several years, Duddy said. He couldn't immediately provide details Tuesday.

A hospital spokeswoman declined a request to discuss the situation, saying negotiations continue with the union.

Officials at the union did not respond to a request for comment on the billboards. They said picketing and media events related to the contract talks are planned for later this week near the hospital.

Meanwhile, federal regulators at the National Labor Relations Board are reviewing claims of wrongdoing tied to the contract talks. The hospital in July filed one charge alleging that the union violated labor regulations. Since then, the union has filed two separate but related allegations against the hospital, a federal regulator said Tuesday.